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LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


he  President's  Message 

1887 


Piling  an  enormous  load  upon  the  People.  "  More  than  $9,000,000  a 
»onth  was  added  to  the  surplus  of  unnecessary  taxation  wrung  from  the  people 
ind  tied  up  in  the  public  treasury."— Mills. 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

G.   P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 
fmicfcerbocfcer  press 


IR, 

Political  and  Economic  Publications. 


WELLS  (David  A.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.).     Practical  Economics.     A 

Series  of  Essays  Respecting  Certain  of  the  Recent  Economic  Ex- 
periences of  the  United  States.     Octavo,  pp.  vi.  -f-  259      .     $i  50 

"Few  writers  are  more  thoroughly  studied  by  economists,  or  more  worthy 
of  study,  and  it  long  ago  ceased  to  be  necessary  to  speak  of  any  thing  from  his 
hands  as  '  valuable  '  and  '  worthy  of  attention.'  " — Literary  World,  Boston. 

"  They  present  in  permanent  form  a  ma-s  of  information  about  the  actual 
working  of  the  protective  system  which  nobody  but  Mr.  Wells  possesses." — N.  V. 
Times. 

-  Our  Merchant  Marine.  How  it  rose,  increased,  became 
great,  declined,  and  decayed  ;  with  an  enquiry  into  the  conditions 
essential  to  its  resuscitation  and  prosperity.  Octavo,  cloth,  $i  oo 

"Ought  to  be  studied  carefully  by  all  intelligent  citizens." — Congrega- 
tionahst. 

"  Full  to  the  brim  of  facts." — Standard,  Syracuse. 

"  Cannot  be  brought  too  prominently  before  the  public." — Argus,  Albany. 

—  Why  We  Trade  and  How  We  Trade  ;  or,  An  Enquiry 
into  the  Extent  to  which  the  Existing  Commercial  and  Fiscal 
Policy  of  the  United  States  Restricts  the  Material  Prosperity  and 
Development  of  the  Country.  Octavo,  paper  .  .  .  $o  25 

"  It  is  a  good  sign  of  the  times  when  such  pamphlets,  by  able  writers,  are 
published  in  cheap  form,  so  as  to  be  accessible  to  all." — Baltimore  Gazette. 

TAUSSIG  (Prof.  F.  W.).  The  Tariff  History  of  the  United 
States — 1789-1888.  Comprising  the  material  contained  in 
"Protection  to  Young  Industries"  and  "History  of  the  Present 
Tariff,"  together  with  revisions  and  additions  needed  to  complete 
the  narrative.  i2ino,  cloth  .  .  .  .  .  .  $i  25 

"  At  a  time  when  the  tariff  has  come  to  occupy  the  forefront  among  politi- 
cal questions,  we  can  heartily  commend  this  book  to  all  political  enquirers." — 
Post,  Washington. 

"Can  be  recommended  to  those  wishing  to  arrive  at  a  comprehensive 
understanding  of  the  tariff  system,  as  the  best  work  of  the  day." — Boston  Times. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON. 


LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


U.S. 
•CONFESS. 


OF 

TARIFJL 

BUT 

N  O 

TARJFF 
FOR, 


The   Democratic   Platform   (1888)    endorses    the  views  expressed    by 
President  Cleveland  in  his  last  earnest  message  to  Congress. 


ll.S 

THE  PRESIDENTS  MESSAGE 

1887 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS    BY 
THOMAS    NAST 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S    SONS 

Cbe  Jimcherbotktr  |)rcss 

1888 


COPYRIGHT   BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


Press  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
New  York 


THE    PRESIDENT'S    MESSAGE,  1887. 


To  the  Congress  of  the  United  States : 

You  are  confronted  at  the  threshold  of  your  legislative 
duties,  with  a  condition  of  the  national  finances  which  im- 
peratively demands  immediate  and  careful  consideration. 

The  amount  of  money  annually  exacted,  through  the 
operation  of  present  laAvs,  from  the  industries  and  necessi- 
ties of  the  people,  largely  exceeds  the  sum  necessary  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  the  Government. 

When  we  consider  that  the  theory  of  our  institutions 
guarantees  to  every  citizen  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  the 
fruits  of  his  industry  and  enterprise,  with  only  such  deduc- 
tions as  may  be  his  share  towards  the  careful  and  economic 
maintenance  of  the  Government  which  protects  him,  it  is 
plain  that  the  exaction  of  more  than  this  is  indefensible  extor- 
tion, and  a  culpable  betrayal  of  American  fairness  and  jus- 
tice. This  wrong  inflicted  upon  those  who  bear  the  burden 
of  national  taxation,  like  other  wrongs,  multiplies  a  brood 
of  evil  consequences.  The  public  treasury,  which  should 
only  exist  as  a  conduit  conveying  the  people's  tribute  to  its 
legitimate  objects  of  expenditure,  becomes  a  hoarding-place 
for  money  needlessly  withdrawn  from  trade  and  the  people's 
use,  thus  crippling  our  national  energies,  suspending  our 
country's  development,  preventing  investment  in  productive 

220571 


MESSAGE,   1887.^ 

enterprise;  threatening 'financial  disturbance,  and  inviting 
schemes  of  public  plunder. 

This  condition  of  our  treasury  is  not  altogether  new ;  and 
it  has  more  than  once  of  late  been  submitted  to  the  people's 
representatives  in  the  Congress,  who  alone  can  apply  a  rem- 
edy. And  yet  the  situation  still  continues,  with  aggravated 
incidents,  more  than  ever  presaging  financial  convulsion 
and  widespread  disaster. 

It  will  not  do  to  neglect  the  situation  because  its  dangers 
are  not  now  palpably  imminent  and  apparent.  They  exist 
none  the  less  certainly,  and  await  the  unforeseen  and  unex- 
pected occasion  when  suddenly  they  will  be  precipitated 
upon  us. 

On  the  30th  day  of  June,  1885,  the  excess  of  revenues 
over  public  expenditures  after  complying  with  the  annual 
requirement  of  the  sinking-fund  act,  was  $17,859,735.84; 
during  the  year  ended  June  30,  1886,  such  excess  amounted 
to  $49,405,545.20  ;  and  during  the  year  ended  June  30,  1887, 
it  reached  the  sum  of  $55,567,849.54. 

The  annual  contributions  to  the  sinking  fund  during  the 
three  years  above  specified,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to 
$138,058,320.94,  and  deducted  from  the  surplus  as  stated, 
were  made  by  calling  in  for  that  purpose  outstanding  three 
per  cent,  bonds  of  the  Government.  During  the  six  months 
prior  to  June  30,  1887,  the  surplus  revenue  had  grown  so 
large  by  repeated  accumulations,  and  it  was  feared  the  with- 
drawal of  this  great  sum  of  money  needed  by  the  people, 
would  so  affect  the  business  of  the  country,  that  the  sum  of 
$79,864,100  of  such  surplus  was  applied  to  the  payment  of 
the  principal  and  interest  of  the  three  per  cent,  bonds  still 
outstanding,  and  which  were  then  payable  at  the  option  of 
the  Government.  The  precarious  condition  of  financial  affairs 


Uncle    Sam,    don't    play  with    it,— be    a    Man.     Monopolists'    soap- 
bubbles  soon  burst. 


6  THE   PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1887. 

among  the  people  still  needing  relief,  immediately  after  the 
30th  day  of  June,  1887,  the  remainder  of  the  three  per  cent, 
bonds  then  outstanding,  amounting  with  principal  and  inter- 
est to  the  sum  of  $18,877,500,  were  called  in  and  applied  to 
the  sinking-fund  contribution  for  the  current  fiscal  year. 
Notwithstanding  these  operations  of  the  Treasury  Depart- 
ment representations  of  distress  in  business  circles  not  only 
continued  but  increased,  and  absolute  peril  seemed  at  hand. 
In  these  circumstances  the  contribution  to  the  sinking  fund 
for  the  current  fiscal  year  was  at  once  completed  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  $27,684,283.55  in  the  purchase  of  Government 
bonds  not  yet  due  bearing  four  and  four  and  a-half  per  cent, 
interest,  the  premium,  paid  thereon  averaging  about  twenty- 
four  per  cent,  for  the  former  and  eight  per  cent,  for  the  lat- 
ter. In  addition  to  this  the  interest  accruing  during  the 
current  year  upon  the  outstanding  bonded  indebtedness  of 
the  Government  was  to  some  extent  anticipated,  and  banks 
selected  as  depositories  of  public  money  were  permitted  to 
somewhat  increase  their  deposits.* 

While  the  expedients  thus  employed,  to  release  to  the 
people  the  money  lying  idle  in  the  Treasury,  served  to  avert 
immediate  danger,  our  surplus  revenues  have  continued  to 
accumulate,  the  excess  for  the  present  year  amounting  on 
the  1st  day  of  December  to  $55,258,701.19,  and  estimated  to 
reach  the  sum  of  $113,000,000  on  the  30th  of  June  next,  at 
which  date  it  is  expected  that  this  sum,  added  to  prior 
accumulations,  will  swell  the  surplus  in  the  Treasury  to 
$140,000,000. 

There  seems  to  be  no  assurance  that,  with  such  a  with- 
drawal from  the  use  of  the  people's  circulating  medium,  our 
business  community  may  not  in  the  near  future  be  subjected 
to  the  same  distress  which  was  quite  lately  produced  from 


HOARDING 

PLACE 


' P  E  0  P 


ONLY, 


OUR   INFANT 

INDUSTRIES 


MUST     BE 

CTE  P- 


Kind   But   Mistaken   Parent. 


8  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1 887. 

the  same  cause.  And  while  the  functions  of  our  National 
Treasury  should  be  few  and  simple,  and  while  its  best  con- 
dition would  be  reached,  I  believe,  by  its  entire  disconnec- 
tion with  private  business  interests,  yet  when,  by  a  perver- 
sion of  its  purposes,  it  idly  holds  money  uselessly  subtracted 
from  the  channels  of  trade,  there  seems  to  be  reason  for  the 
claim  that  some  legitimate  means  should  be  devised  by  the 
Government  to  restore  in  an  emergency,  without  waste 
or  extravagance,  such  money  to  its  place  among  the  people. 

If  such  an  emergency  arises  there  now  exists  no  clear 
and  undoubted  executive  power  of  relief.  Heretofore  the 
redemption  of  three  per  cent,  bonds,  which  were  payable  at 
the  option  of  the  Government,  has  afforded  a  means  for  the 
disbursement  of  the  excess  of  our  revenues  ;  but  these  bonds 
have  all  been  retired,  and  there  are  no  bonds  outstanding 
the  payment  of  which  we  have  the  right  to  insist  upon. 
The  contribution  to  the  sinking  fund  which  furnishes  the 
occasion  for  expenditure  in  the  purchase  of  bonds  has  been 
already  made  for  the  current  year,  so  that  there  is  no  outlet 
in  that  direction. 

In  the  present  state  of  legislation  the  only  pretence  of 
any  existing  executive  power  to  restore,  at  this  time,  any 
part  of  our  surplus  revenues  to  the  people  by  its  expendi- 
ture, consists  in  the  supposition  that  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  may  enter  the  market  and  purchase  the  bonds  01 
the  Government  not  yet  due,  at  a  rate  of  premium  to  be 
agreed  upon.  The  only  provision  of  law  from  which  such  a 
power  could  be  derived  is  found  in  an  appropriation  bill 
passed  a  number  of  years  ago  ;  and  it  is  subject  to  the  sus- 
picion that  it  was  intended  as  temporary  and  limited  in  its 
application,  instead  of  conferring  a  continuing  discretion 
and  authority.  No  condition  ought  to  exist  which  would 


The  Temptation  for  Spoils.     "What  are  we  here   for?" 


IO  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   l88/. 

justify  the  grant  of  power  to  a  single  official,  upon  his  judg- 
ment of  its  necessity,  to  withhold  from  or  release  to  the 
business  of  the  people,  in  an  unusual  manner,  money  held  in 
the  Treasury,  and  thus  affect,  at  his  will,  the  financial  situa- 
tion of  the  country ;  and  if  it  is  deemed  wise  to  lodge  in  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the  authority  in  the  present  junc- 
ture to  purchase  bonds,  it  should  be  plainly  vested,  and 
provided  as  far  as  possible,  with  such  checks  and  limitations 
as  will  define  this  official's  right  and  discretion,  and  at  the 
same  time  relieve  him  from  undue  responsibility. 

In  considering  the  question  of  purchasing  bonds  as  a 
means  of  restoring  to  circulation  the  surplus  money  accu- 
mulating in  the  Treasury,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that 
premiums  must  of  course  be  paid  upon  such  purchase,  that 
there  may  be  a  large  part  of  these  bonds  held  as  investments 
which  cannot  be  purchased  at  any  price,  and  that  combina- 
tions among  holders  who  are  willing  to  sell  may  unreason- 
ably enhance  the  cost  of  such  bonds  to  the  Government. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  present  bonded  debt  might 
be  refunded  at  a  less  rate  of  interest,  and  the  difference  be- 
tween the  old  and  new  security  paid  in  cash,  thus  finding 
use  for  the  surplus  in  the  Treasury.  The  success  of  this 
plan,  it  is  apparent,  must  depend  upon  the  volition  of  the 
holders  of  the  present  bonds  ;  and  it  is  not  entirely  certain 
that  the  inducement  which  must  be  offered  them  would  re- 
sult in  more  financial  benefit  to  the  Government  than  the 
purchase  of  bonds,  while  the  latter  proposition  would  reduce 
the  principal  of  the  debt  by  actual  payment,  instead  of  ex- 
tending it. 

The  proposition  to  deposit  the  money  held  by  the  Gov- 
ernment in  banks  throughout  the  country,  for  use  by  the 
people,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  exceedingly  objectionable  in 


What   Congress   meets   for  every  year.      Patience    on    a    Monument. 
Hoodwinked. 


ii 


12  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,  1887. 

principle,  as  establishing  too  close  a  relationship  between 
the  operations  of  the  Government  Treasury  and  the  business 
of  the  country,  and  too  extensive  a  commingling  of  their 
money,  thus  fostering  an  unnatural  reliance  in  private  busi- 
ness upon  public  funds.  If  this  scheme  should  be  adopted 
it  should  only  be  done  as  a  temporary  expedient  to  meet 
an  urgent  necessity.  Legislative  and  executive  effort  should 
generally  be  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  should  have  a  ten- 
dency to  divorce,  as  much  and  as  fast  as  can  safely  be  done, 
the  Treasury  Department  from  private  enterprise. 

Of  course  it  is  not  expected  that  unnecessary  and  extrava- 
gant appropriations  will  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  avoid- 
ing the  accumulation  of  an  excess  of  revenue.  Such  expen- 
diture, beside  the  demoralization  of  all  just  conceptions  of 
public  duty  which  it  entails,  stimulates  a  habit  of  reckless 
improvidence  not  in  the  least  consistent  with  the  mission  of 
our  people  or  the  high  and  beneficent  purpose  of  our  Gov- 
ernment. 

I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  thus  bring  to  the  knowledge 
of  my  countrymen,  as  well  as  the  attention  of  their  repre- 
sentatives charged  with  the  responsibility  of  legislative 
relief,  the  gravity  of  our  financial  situation.  The  failure  of 
the  Congress  heretofore  to  provide  against  the  dangers 
which  it  was  quite  evident  the  very  nature  of  the  difficulty 
must  necessarily  produce,  caused  a  condition  of  financial  dis- 
tress and  apprehension  since  your  last  adjournment,  which 
taxed  to  the  uttermost  all  the  authority  and  expedients  with- 
in executive  control ;  and  these  appear  now  to  be  exhausted. 
If  disaster  results  from  the  continued  inaction  of  Congress, 
the  responsibility  must  rest  where  it  belongs. 

Though  the  situation  thus  far  considered  is  fraught  with 
danger  which  should  be  fully  realized,  and  though  it  presents 


Was  our  patriot  Gen.  Grant  a  British  Free  Trader,  bought  by  British 
gold,  and  a  Democratic  Hessian  ? 


14  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1 887. 

features  of  wrong  to  the  people  as  well  as  peril  to  the  country, 
it  is  but  a  result  growing  out  of  a  perfectly  palpable  and  ap- 
parent cause,  constantly  reproducing  the  same  alarming  cir- 
cumstances— a  congested  national  treasury  and  a  depleted 
monetary  condition  in  the  business  of  the  country.  It  need 
hardly  be  stated  that  while  the  present  situation  demands  a 
remedy,  we  can  only  be  saved  from  a  like  predicament  in  the 
future  by  the  removal  of  its  cause. 

Our  scheme  of  taxation,  by  means  of  which  this  needless 
surplus  is  taken  from  the  people  and  put  into  the  public 
treasury,  consists  of  a  tariff  or  duty  levied  upon  importa- 
tions from  abroad,  and  internal-revenue  taxes  levied  upon 
the  consumption  of  tobacco  and  spirituous  and  malt  liquors. 
It  must  be  conceded  that  none  of  the  things  subjected  to 
internal-revenue  taxation  are,  strictly  speaking,  necessaries; 
there  appears  to  be  no  just  complaint  of  this  taxation  by  the 
consumers  of  these  articles,  and  there  seems  to  be  nothing 
so  well  able  to  bear  the  burden  without  hardship  to  any 
portion  of  the  people. 

But  our  present  tariff  laws,  the  vicious,  inequitable,  and 
illogical  source  of  unnecessary  taxation,  ought  to  be  at  once 
revised  and  amended.  These  laws,  as.  their  primary  and 
plain  effect,  raise  the  price  to  consumers  of  all  articles  im- 
ported and  subject  to  duty,  by  precisely  the  sum  paid  for 
such  duties.  Thus  the  amount  of  the  duty  measures  the  tax 
paid  by  those  who  purchase  for  use  these  imported  articles. 
Many  of  these  things,  however,  are  raised  or  manufactured 
in  our  own  country,  and  the  duties  now  levied  upon  foreign 
goods  and  products  are  called  protection  to  these  home 
manufactures,  because  they  render  it  possible  for  those  of 
our  people  who  are  manufacturers,  to  make  these  taxed 
articles  and  sell  them  for  a  price  equal  to  that  demanded 


Was  President  Garfield  a  British  Free  Trader,  bought  by  British  gold, 
and  a  Democratic  Hessian  ? 


1 6  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   l88/. 

for  the  imported  goods  that  have  paid  customs  duty.  So  it 
happens  that  while  comparatively  a  few  use  the  imported 
articles,  millions  of  our  people,  who  never  use  and  never  saw 
any  of  the  foreign  products,  purchase  and  use  things  of  the 
same  kind  made  in  this  country,  and  pay  therefor  nearly  or 
quite  the  same  enhanced  price  which  the  duty  adds  to  the 
imported  articles.  Those  who  buy  imports  pay  the  duty 
charged  thereon  into  the  public  treasury,  but  the  majority 
of  our  citizens,  who  buy  domestic  articles  of  the  same  class, 
pay  a  sum  at  least  approximately  equal  to  this  duty  to  the 
home  manufacturer.  This  reference  to  the  operation  of  our 
tariff  laws  is  not  made  by  way  of  instruction,  but  in  order 
that  we  may  be  constantly  reminded  of  the  manner  in  which 
they  impose  a  burden  upon  those  who  consume  domes- 
tic products  as  well  as  those  who  consume  imported  articles, 
and  thus  create  a  tax  upon  all  our  people. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  entirely  relieve  the  country  of  this 
taxation.  It  must  be  extensively  continued  as  the  source 
of  the  Government's  income ;  and  in  a  readjustment  of  our 
tariff  the  interests  of  American  labor  engaged  in  manufac- 
ture should  be  carefully  considered,  as  well  as  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  manufacturers.  It  may  be  called  protection,  or 
by  any  other  name,  but  relief  from  the  hardships  and  dangers 
of  our  present  tariff  laws,  should  be  devised  with  especial 
precaution  against  imperilling  the  existence  of  our  manufac- 
turing interests.  But  this  existence  should  not  mean  a  con- 
dition which,  without  regard  to  the  public  welfare  or  a 
national  exigency,  must  always  insure  the  realization  of  im- 
mense profits  instead  of  moderately  profitable  returns.  As 
the  volume  and  diversity  of  our  national  activities  increase, 
new  recruits  are  added  to  those  who  desire  a  continuation  of 
the  advantages  which  they  conceive  the  present  system  of 


Was  President  Arthur  a  British  Free  Trader,  bought  by  British  gold, 
and  a  Democratic  Hessian  ? 


1 8  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1 887. 

tariff  taxation  directly  affords  them.  So  stubbornly  have 
all  efforts  to  reform  the  present  condition  been  resisted  by 
those  of  our  fellow-citizens  thus  engaged,  that  they  can 
hardly  complain  of  the  suspicion,  entertained  to  a  certain 
extent,  that  there  existed  an  organized  combination  all  along 
the  line  to  maintain  their  advantage. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  centennial  celebrations,  and  with 
becoming  pride  we  rejoice  in  American  skill  and  ingenuity, 
in  American  energy  and  enterprise,  and  in  the  wonderful 
natural  advantages  and  resources  developed  by  a  century's 
national  growth.  Yet  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  justify  a 
scheme  which  permits  a  tax  to  be  laid  upon  every  consumer 
in  the  land  for  the  benefit  of  our  manufacturers,  quite  be- 
yond a  reasonable  demand  for  government  regard,  it  suits 
the  purposes  of  advocacy  to  call  our  manufactures  infant  in- 
dustries, still  needing  the  highest  and  greatest  degree  of 
favor  and  fostering  care  that  can  be  rung  from  Federal 
legislation. 

It  is  also  said  that  the  increase  in  the  price  of  domestic 
manufactures  resulting  from  the  present  tariff  is  necessary 
in  order  that  higher  wages  may  be  paid  to  our  workingmen 
employed  in  manufactories,  than  are  paid  for  what  is  called 
the  pauper  labor  of  Europe.  All  will  acknowledge  the  force 
of  an  argument  which  involves  the  welfare  and  liberal  com- 
pensation of  our  laboring  people.  Our  labor  is  honorable 
in  the  eyes  of  every  American  citizen ;  and  as  it  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  our  development  and  progress,  it  is  entitled, 
without  affectation  or  hypocrisy,  to  the  utmost  regard.  The 
standard  of  our  laborers'  life  should  not  be  measured  by  that 
of  any  other  country  less  favored,  and  they  are  entitled  to 
their  full  share  of  all  our  advantages. 

By  the  last  census  it  is  made  to  appear  that  of  the  17,392,- 


o  r  i  c  £ 

)F    YOU    CANT  FIND  WHAT Y0v> 


"Simplifying"  the  Tariff  every  day.     Multitudinous  and  contradictory 
volumes  on  Tariff  in  our  Custom-House. 


20  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1887. 

099  of  our  population  engaged  in  all  kinds  of  industries, 
7,670,493  are  employed  in  agriculture,  4,074,238  in  profes- 
sional and  personal  service  (2,934,876  of  whom  are  domestic 
servants  and  laborers),  while  1,810,256  are  employed  in  trade 
and  transportation,  and  3,837,112  are  classed  as  employed 
in  manufacturing  and  mining. 

For  present  purposes,  however,  the  last  number  given 
should  be  considerably  reduced.  Without  attempting  to 
enumerate  all,  it  will  be  conceded  that  there  should  not  be 
deducted  from  these  which  it  includes  375,143  carpenters 
and  joiners,  285,401  milliners,  dressmakers,  and  seamstresses, 
172,726  blacksmiths,  133,756  tailors  and  tailoresses,  102,473 
masons,  76,241  butchers,  41,309  bakers,  22,083  plasterers, 
and  4,891  engaged  in  manufacturing  agricultural  implements, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  1,214,023,  leaving  2,623,089 
persons  employed  in  such  manufacturing  industries  as  are 
claimed  to  be  benefited  by  a  high  tariff. 

To  these  the  appeal  is  made  to  save  their  employment 
and  maintain  their  wages  by  resisting  a  change.  There 
should  be  no  disposition  to  answer  such  suggestions  by  the 
allegation  that  they  are  in  a  minority  among  those  who 
labor,  and  therefore  should  forego  an  advantage,  in  the  in- 
terest of  low  prices  for  the.  majority ;  their  compensation,  as 
it  may  be  affected  by  the  operation  of  tariff  laws,  should  at 
all  times  be  scrupulously  kept  in  view ;  and  yet  with  slight 
reflection  they  will  not  overlook  the  fact  that  they  are  con- 
sumers with  the  rest ;  that  they,  too,  have  their  own  wants 
and  those  of  their  families  to  supply  from  their  earnings, 
and  that  the  price  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  as  well  as  the 
amount  of  their  wages,  will  regulate  the  measure  of  their 
welfare  and  comfort. 

But  the  reduction  of  taxation  demanded  should  be  so 


•    \^A^ 


There  is  something  in  power  that  creates  a  craving  for  more. 
If  monopoly  is  an  infant  noiv  and  needs  "  protection,"  what  will  he  be 
when  he  becomes  of  age? 


21 


22  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,  l88/. 

measured  as  not  to  necessitate  or  justify  either  the  loss  of 
employment  by  the  working  man  or  the  lessening  of  his 
wages ;  and  the  profits  still  remaining  to  the  manufacturer, 
after  a  necessary  readjustment,  should  furnish  no  excuse  for 
the  sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  his  employes  either  in  their 
opportunity  to  work  or  in  the  diminution  of  their  compen- 
sation. Nor  can  the  worker  in  manufactures  fail  to  under- 
stand that  while  a  high  tariff  is  claimed  to  be  necessary  to 
allow  the  payment  of  remunerative  wages,  it  certainly  results 
in  a  very  large  increase  in  the  price  of  nearly  all  sorts  of 
manufactures,  which,  in  almost  countless  forms,  he  needs  for 
the  use  of  himself  and  his  family.  He  receives  at  the  desk 
of  his  employer  his  wages,  and  perhaps  before  he  reaches 
his  home  is  obliged,  in  a  purchase  for  family  use  of  an  arti- 
cle which  embraces  his  own  labor,  to  return  in  the  payment 
of  the  increase  in  price  which  the  tariff  permits,  the  hard- 
earned  compensation  of  many  days  of  toil. 

The  farmer  and  the  agriculturist,  who  manufacture  noth- 
ing, but  who  pay  the  increased  price  which  the  tariff  imposes 
upon  every  agricultural  implement,  upon  all  he  wears  and 
upon  all  he  uses  and  owns,  except  the  increase  of  his  flocks 
and  herds  and  such  things  as  his  husbandry  produces  from 
the  soil,  is  invited  to  aid  in  maintaining  the  present  situa- 
tion ;  and  he  is  told  that  a  high  duty  on  imported  wool  is 
necessary  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  sheep  to  shear, 
in  order  that  the  price  of  their  wool  may  be  increased. 
They  of  course  are  not  reminded  that  the  farmer  who  has 
no  sheep  is  by  this  scheme  obliged,  in  his  purchases  of 
clothing  and  woollen  goods,  to  pay  a  tribute  to  his  fellow 
farmer  as  well  as  to  the  manufacturer  and  merchant ;  nor  is 
any  mention  made  of  the  fact  that  the  sheep-owners  them- 
selves and  their  households  must  wear  clothing  and  use 


FOK"  INFAN 
OM  PLAINTS 
TO  CARLSBAD. 


The  Monopolist  goes  to  Europe  to  spend  his  surplus  fat,  and  to  bring" 
home  a  stock  of  personal  effects  from  a  foreign  market,  free  of  duty, 
while  the  •wage-earner  makes  his  lean  purchases  in  the  home  market, 
well  tavced. 


23 


24  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   l88/. 

other  articles  manufactured  from  the  wool  they  sell  at  tariff 
prices,  and  thus,  as  consumers,  must  return  their  share  of 
this  increased  price  to  the  tradesman. 

I  think.it  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  sheep  owned  by  the  farmers  throughout  the  country 
are  found  in  small  flocks  numbering  from  twenty-five  to 
fifty.  The  duty  on  the  grade  of  imported  wool  which  these 
sheep  yield,  is  ten  cents  each  pound  if  of  the  value  of  thirty 
cents  or  less,  and  twelve  cents  if  of  the  value  of  more  than 
thirty  cents.  If  the  liberal  estimate  of  six  pounds  be  al- 
lowed for  each  fleece,  the  duty  thereon  would  be  sixty  or 
seventy-two  cents,  and  this  may  be  taken  as  the  utmost  en- 
hancement of  its  price  to  the  farmer  by  reason  of  this  duty. 
Eighteen  dollars  would  thus  represent  the  increased  price 
of  the  wool  from  twenty-five  sheep,  and  thirty-six  dollars 
that  from  the  wool  of  fifty  sheep ;  and  at  present  values  this 
addition  would  amount  to  about  one  third  of  its  price.  If 
upon  its  sale  the  farmer  receives  this  or  a  less  tariff  profit, 
the  wool  leaves  his  hands  charged  with  precisely  that  sum, 
which  in  all  its  changes  will  adhere  to  it,  until  it  reaches  the 
consumer.  When  manufactured  into  cloth  and  other  goods 
and  material  for  use,  its  cost  is  not  only  increased  to  the 
extent  of  the  farmer's  tariff  profit,  but  a  further  sum  has 
been  added  for  the  benefit  of  the  manufacturer  under  the 
operation  of  other  tariff  laws.  In  the  meantime  the  day 
arrives  when  the  farmer  finds  it  necessary  to  purchase  wool- 
len goods  and  material  to  clothe  himself  and  family  for  the, 
winter.  When  he  faces  the  tradesman  for  that  purpose  he 
discovers  that  he  is  obliged  not  only  to  return,  in  the  way  of 
increased  prices,  his  tariff  profit  on  the  wool  he  sold,  and 
which  then  perhaps  lies  before  him  in  manufactured  form, 
but  that  he  must  add  a  considerable  sum  thereto  to  meet  a 


The  Wool  from  the   Farmer's  eyes,  when   He  sees  it  Again. 


25 


26  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1887. 

further  increase  in  cost  caused  by  a  tariff  duty  on  the  manu- 
facture. Thus  in  the  end  he  is  aroused  to  the  fact  that  he 
has  paid  upon  a  moderate  purchase,  as  a  result  of  the  tariff 
scheme,  which,  when  he  sold  his  wool  seemed  so  profitable, 
an  increase  in  price  more  than  sufficient  to  sweep  away  all 
the  tariff  profit  he  received  upon  the  wool  he  produced  and 
sold. 

When  the  number  of  farmers  engaged  in  wool -raising  is 
compared  with  all  the  farmers  in  the  country,  and  the  small 
proportion  they  bear  to  our  population  is  considered  ;  when 
it  is  made  apparent  that,  in  the  case  of  a  large  part  of 
those  who  own  sheep,  the  benefit  of  the  present  tariff  on 
wool  is  illusory ;  and,  above  all,  when  it  must  be  conceded 
that  the  increase  of  the  cost  of  living  caused  by  such  tariff 
becomes  a  burden  upon  those  with  moderate  means  and  the 
poor,  the  employed  and  unemployed,  the  sick  and  well,  and 
the  young  and  old,  and  that  it  constitutes  a  tax  which,  with 
relentless  grasp,  is  fastened  upon  the  clothing  of  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  the  land,  reasons  are  suggested  why 
the  removal  or  reduction  of  this  duty  should  be  included  in 
a  revision  of  our  tariff  laws. 

In  speaking  of  the  increased  cost  to  the  consumer  of  our 
home  manufactures,  resulting  from  a  duty  laid  upon  im- 
ported articles  of  the  same  description,  the  fact  is  not  over- 
looked that  competition  among  our  domestic  producers 
sometimes  has  the  effect  of  keeping  the  price  of  their  pro- 
ducts below  the  highest  limit  allowed  by  such  duty.  But  it 
is  notorious  that  this  competition  is  too  often  strangled  by 
combinations  quite  prevalent  at  this  time,  and  frequently 
called  trusts,  which  have  for  their  object  the  regulation  of 
the  supply  and  price  of  commodities  made  and  sold  by 
members  of  the  combination.  The  people  can  hardly  hope 


"  Alcohol   in   the   Arts."     How  "  protection "    is  to    be  taken.      Open 
your  mouth  and  shut  your  eyes. 


28  THE   PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1 887. 

for  any  consideration  in  the  operation  of  these  selfish 
schemes. 

If,  however,  in  the  absence  of  such  combination,  a 
healthy  and  free  competition  reduces  the  price  of  any  par- 
ticular dutiable  article  of  home  production  below  the  limit 
which  it  might  otherwise  reach  under  our  tariff  laws,  and  if, 
with  such  reduced  price,  its  manufacture  continues  to  thrive, 
it  is  entirely  evident  that  one  thing  has  been  discovered 
which  should  be  carefully  scrutinized  in  an  effort  to  reduce 
taxation. 

The  necessity  of  combination  to  maintain  the  price  of  any 
commodity  to  the  tariff  point  furnishes  proof  that  some  one 
is  willing  to  accept  lower  prices  for  such  commodity,  and 
that  such  prices  are  remunerative;  and  lower  prices  pro- 
duced by  competition  prove  the  same  thing.  Thus  where 
either  of  these  conditions  exist,  a  case  would  seem  to  be 
presented  for  an  easy  reduction  of  taxation. 

The  considerations  which  have  been  presented  touching 
our  tariff  laws  are  intended  only  to  enforce  an  earnest  rec- 
ommendation that  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  Government 
be  prevented  by  the  reduction  of  our  custom  duties,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  emphasize  a  suggestion  that,  in  accomplish- 
ing this  purpose,  we  may  discharge  a  double  duty  to  our 
people  by  granting  to  them  a  measure  of  relief  from  tariff 
taxation  in  quarters  where  it  is  most  needed  and  from  sources 
where  it  can  be  most  fairly  and  justly  accorded. 

Nor  can  the  presentation  made  of  such  considerations  be, 
with  any  degree  of  fairness,  regarded  as  evidence  of  un- 
friendliness toward  our  manufacturing  interests,  or  of  any 
lack  of  appreciation  of  their  value  and  importance. 

These  interests  constitute  a  leading  and  most  substantial 
element  of  our  national  greatness  and  furnish  the  proud 


The  Free  Farmer, — about  whom  the  "  protectionists  "  are  so  anxious 


29 


30  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1 8 87. 

proof  of  our  country's  progress.  But  if  in  the  emergency 
that  presses  upon  us  our  manufacturers  are  asked  to  sur- 
render something  for  the  public  good  and  to  avert  disaster, 
their  patriotism,  as  well  as  a  grateful  recognition  of  advan- 
tages already  afforded,  should  lead  them  to  willing  co-opera- 
tion. No  demand  is  made  that  they  shall  forego  all  the 
benefits  of  governmental  regard  ;  but  they  cannot  fail  to  be 
admonished  of  their  duty,  as  well  as  their  enlightened  self- 
interest  and  safety,  when  they  are  reminded  of  the  fact  that 
financial  panic  and  collapse,  to  which  the  present  condition 
tends,  aif ord  no  greater  shelter  or  protection  to  our  manufac- 
tures than  to  our  other  important  enterprises.  Opportunity 
for  safe,  careful,  and  deliberate  reform  is  now  offered ;  and 
none  of  us  should  be  unmindful  of  a  time  when  an  abused 
and  irritated  people,  heedless  of  those  who  have  resisted 
timely  and  reasonable  belief,  may  insist  upon  a  radical  and 
and  sweeping  rectification  of  their  wrongs. 

The  difficulty  attending  a  wise  and  fair  revision  of  our 
tariff  laws  is  not  underestimated.  It  will  require  on  the 
part  of  the  Congress  great  labor  and  care,  and  especially  a 
broad  and  national  contemplation  of  the  subject,  and  a 
patriotic  disregard  of  such  local  and  selfish  claims  as  are  un- 
reasonable and  reckless  of  the  welfare  of  the  entire  country. 

Under  our  present  laws  more  than  four  thousand  articles 
are  subject  to  duty.  Many  of  these  do  not  in  any  way  com- 
pete with  our  own  manufactures,  and  many  are  hardly  worth 
attention  as  subjects  of  revenue.  A  considerable  reduction 
can  be  made  in  the  aggregate,  by  adding  them  to  the  free1 
list.  The  taxation  of  luxuries  presents  no  features  of  hard- 
ship ;  but  the  necessaries  of  life  used  and  consumed  by  all 
the  people,  the  duty  upon  which  adds  to  the  cost  of  living 
in  every  home,  should  be  greatly  cheapened. 


THE  VULTURE   TRUST, 

(>TOT      1.1  MINTED,) 


The  Trick  Issue.     The  infant  vulture.      "This  is  the  animal  that  is 
about  to  devour  you  -when  the  Tariff  reformers  let  him  loose." 


32  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   l88/. 

The  radical  reduction  of  the  duties  imposed  upon  raw 
material  used  in  manufactures,  or  its  free  importation,  is  of 
course  an  important  factor  in  any  effort  to  reduce  the  price 
of  these  necessaries ;  it  would  not  only  relieve  them  from 
the  increased  cost  caused  by  the  tariff  on  such  material,  but 
the  manufactured  product  being  thus  cheapened,  that  part 
of  the  tariff  now  laid  upon  such  product  as  a  compensation 
to  our  manufacturers  for  the  present  price  of  raw  material, 
could  be  accordingly  modified.  Such  reduction,  or  free  im- 
portation, would  serve  beside  to  largely  reduce  the  revenue. 
It  is  not  apparent  how  such  a  change  can  have  any  injurious 
effect  upon  our  manufacturers.  On  the  contrary,  it  would 
appear  to  give  them  a  better  chance  in  foreign  markets  with 
the  manufacturers  of  other  countries,  who  cheapen  their 
wares  by  free  material.  Thus  our  people  might  have  an 
opportunity  of  extending  their  sales  beyond  the  limits  of 
home  consumption — saving  them  from  the  depression,  in- 
terruption in  business,  and  loss  caused  by  a  glutted  domestic 
market,  and  affording  their  employes  more  certain  and  steady 
labor,  with  its  resulting  quiet  and  contentment. 

The  question  thus  imperatively  presented  for  solution 
should  be  approached  in  a  spirit  higher  than  partisanship, 
and  considered  in  the  light  of  that  regard  for  patriotic  duty 
which  should  characterize  the  action  of  those  intrusted  with 
the  weal  of  a  confiding  people.  But  the  obligation  to 
declared  party  policy  and  principle  is  not  wanting  to  urge 
prompt  and  effective  action.  Both  of  the  great  political 
parties  now  represented  in  the  Government  have,  by  re- 
peated and  authoritative  declarations,  condemned  the  con- 
dition of  our  laws  which  permit  the  collection  from  the 
people  of  unnecessary  revenue,  and  have,  in  the  most 
solemn  manner,  promised  its  correction;  and  neither  as  citi- 


It  is  time  to  get  this  Untangled.  Grover  Cleveland. — "  What  a  mess 
you  have  got  this  into  by  leaving  it  wound  so  long.  There  are  so  many 
snarls  and  knots  that  it  will  take  much  longer  than  you  think  to  get  this 
yarn  to  rights." 


33 


34  THE  PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1887. 

zens  nor  partisans  are  our  countrymen  in  a  mood  to  condone 
the  deliberate  violation  of  these  pledges. 

Our  progress  toward  a  wise  conclusion  will  not  be  im- 
proved by  dwelling  upon  the  theories  of  protection  and 
free  trade.  This  savors  too  much  of  bandying  epithets.  It 
is  a  condition  which  confronts  us — not  a  theory.  Relief 
from  this  condition  may  involve  a  slight  reduction  of  the 
advantages  which  we  award  our  home  productions,  but  the 
entire  withdrawal  of  such  advantages  should  not  be  con- 
templated. The  question  of  free  trade  is  absolutely  irrel- 
evant ;  aud  the  persistent  claim  made  in  certain  quarters, 
that  all  efforts  to  relieve  the  people  from  unjust  and  un- 
necessary taxation  are  schemes  of  so-called  free-traders,  is 
mischievous  and  far  removed  from  any  consideration  for  the 
public  good. 

The  simple  and  plain  duty  which  we  owe  the  people  is  to 
reduce  taxation  to  the  necessary  expenses  of  an  economical 
operation  of  the  Government,  and  to  restore  to  the  business 
of  the  country  the  money  which  we  hold  in  the  Treasury 
through  the  perversion  of  governmental  powers.  These 
things  can  and  should  be  done  with  safety  to  all  our  indus- 
tries, without  danger  to  the  opportunity  for  remunerative 
labor  which  our  workingnien  need,  and  with  benefit  to  them 
and  all  our  people,  by  cheapening  their  means  of  sub- 
sistence and  increasing  the  measure  of  their  comforts. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  the  President  "shall, 
from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  information  of  the 
state  of  the  Union."  It  has  been  the  custom  of  the  Execu- 
tive, in  compliance  with  this  provision,  to  annually  exhibit 
to  the  Congress,  at  the  opening  of  its  session,  the  general 
condition  of  the  country,  and  to  detail,  with  some  particu- 
larity, the  operations  of  the  different  Executive  Depart- 


...v,.4<i  <£?  -^ 

( \  ( *  ^ 


u  . 

I/DI   M    iNt 

C  O  T    T   O  N 

in  '/«  i?   '(1  in 

M    )  Li,  5  . 

f|l    /M   n      „ 


"  A  Tariff  to  protect  those  Mill-Operatives  would  put  the  duty  upon  the 
Canadians,  not  on  the  cotton  cloth." — -JAS  PARTON. 

Custom-House    Officer. — "  You  go  through  free,  to  compete  with  our 
labor,  but  your  goods,  that  compete  with  our  w»/ff(ionaires),  must  be  taxed." 


35 


36  THE   PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE,   1 887. 

inents.  It  would  be  especially  agreeable  to  follow  this 
course  at  the  present  time,  and  to  call  attention  to  the  valu- 
able accomplishments  of  these  Departments  during  the  last 
fiscal  year.  But  I  am  so  much  impressed  with  the  par- 
amount importance  of  the  subject  to  which  this  communi- 
cation has  thus  far  been  devoted,  that  I  shall  forego  the 
addition  of  any  other  topic,  and  only  urge  upon  your  imme- 
diate consideration  the  "  state  of  the  Union  "  as  shown  in 
the  present  condition  of  our  Treasury  and  our  general  fiscal 
situation,  upon  which  every  element  of  our  safety  and  pros- 
perity depends. 

The  reports  of  the  heads  of  Departments,  which  will  be 
submitted,  contain  full  and  explicit  information  touching 
the  transaction  of  the  business  intrusted  to  them,  and  such 
recommendations  relating  to  legislation  in  the  public  inter- 
est as  they  deem  advisable.  I  ask  for  these  reports  and 
recommendations  the  deliberate  examination  and  action  of 
the  Legislative  branch  of  the  Government. 

There  are  other  subjects  not  embraced  in  the  departmen- 
tal reports  demanding  legislative  consideration  and  which  I 
should  be  glad  to  submit.  Some  of  them,  however,  have 
been  earnestly  presented  in  previous  messages,  and  as  to 
them,  I  beg  leave  to  repeat  prior  recommendations. 

As  the  law  makes  no  provision  for  any  report  from  the 
Department  of  State,  a  brief  history  of  the  transactions  of 
that  important  Department,  together  with  other  matters 
which  it  may  hereafter  be  deemed  essential  to  commend  to 
the  attention  of  the  Congress,  may  furnish  the  occasion  for 
a  future  communication. 

GKOVER  CLEVELAND. 

WASHINGTON,  December  6,  1887. 


•  •     •   •  • 

•  ••  •  •    • 

•  • %•  •     I 


REPUBLICAN    RECOMMENDATIONS    FOR    A 
REDUCTION    OF    THE    TARIFF. 


Republican  National  Platform,  1868  :  It  is  due  to  the  labor  of 
theCnation  that  taxation  should  be  equalized  and  reduced  as  rapidly  as 
the.national  faith  will  permit. 

Republican  National  Platform,  1884 :  The  Republican  party 
pledges  itself  to  correct  the  inequalities  of  the  tariff  and  to  reduce  the 
surplus. 

President  Grant,  Annual  Message,  December,  1874  :  Those  ar- 
ticles which  enter  into  our  manufactures,  and  are  not  produced  at 
home,  it  seems  to  me,  should  be  entered  FREE.  Those  articles  of 
manufacture  which  we  produce  a  constituent  part  of,  but  do  not  pro- 
duce the  whole,  that  part  which  we  do  not  produce  should  be  entered 
free  also.  I  will  instance  fine  WOOLS,  dyes,  etc.  These  articles  must 
be  imported  to  form  a  part  of  the  manufacture  of  the  higher  grades  of 
woollen  goods.  Chemicals  used  as  dyes,  compounded  in  medicines, 
and  used  in  various  ways  in  manufactures,  come  under  this  class.  The 
introduction,  free  of  duty,  of  such  wools  as  we  do  not  produce  would 
stimulate  the  manufacture  of  goods  requiring  the  use  of  those  we  do 
produce,  and  therefore  would  be  a  benefit  to  home  production.  There 
are  many  articles  entering  into  '*  home  manufactures"  which  we  do  not 
produce  ourselves,  the  tariff  upon  which  increases  the  cost  of  producing 
the  manufactured  article. 

President  Grant,  Annual  Message,  December,  1875  :  Many  duties 
now  collected,  and  which  give  but  an  insignificant  return  for  the  cost  of 
collection,  might  be  remitted,  and  to  the  direct  advantage  of  consumers 
at  home.  I  would  mention  those  articles  which  enter  into  manufac- 
tures of  all  sorts.  All  duty  paid  upon  such  articles  goes  directly  to  the 
cost  of  the  article  when  manufactured  here,  and  must  be  paid  for  by 
the  consumers.  These  duties  not  only  come  from  the  consumers  at 
home,  but  act  as  a  protection  to  foreign  manufacturers  of  the  same 
completed  articles  in  our  own  and  distant  markets. 

James  A.  Garfield,  July  13,  1868  :  Unless  the  tariff  men  take 
heed,  unless  they  consent  to  a  rational  and  considerate  adjustment  of  the 
tariff  such  as  only  can  be  made  by  the  full  light  that  a  careful  statistical 
study  of  the  subject  will  bring,  I  fear  from  them,  more  than  from  any 
other_  source,  ajreaction  which  will  bring  us  by  and  by  into  free  trade 

37 


5 8  REPUBLICAN  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

ind  all  its  consequences  of  evil  to  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the 

^411  retry.  !        , ,        -  _     - 

From  the  Report  of  the  Republican  Tariff  Commission 
ippointed  by  President  Arthur,  1881  :  It  would  seem  that  the 
•ates  of  duties  under  the  existing  tariff — fixed,  for  the  most  part,  during 
he  war  under  the  evident  necesssity  at  that  time  of  stimulating  to  its 
itmost  extent  all  domestic  production — might  be  adapted,  through 
-eduction,  to  the  present  condition  of  heace  requiring  no  such  extraor- 
linary  stimulus.  And  in  the  mechanical  and  manufacturing  industries, 
especially  those  which  have  been  long  established,  it  would  seem  that 
he  improvements  in  machinery  and  processes  made  within  the  last 
wenty  years,  and  the  high  scale  of  productiveness  which  has  become  a 
:haracteristic  of  their  establishments,  would  permit  our  manufacturers 
o  compete  with  their  foreign  rivals  under  a  substantial  reduction  of  ex- 
sting  duties. 

Entertaining  these  views,  the  Commission  has  sought  to  present  a 
cheme  of  tariff  duties  in  which  substantial  reduction  should  be  the 
listinguishing  feature.  The  average  reduction  in  rates,  including  that 
rom  the  enlargement  of  the  free  list  and  the  abolition  of  the  duties  on 
:harges  and  commissions,  at  which  the  commission  has  aimed,  is  not  less 
>n  the  average  than  20  per  cent.,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  Commis- 
ion  that  the  reduction  will  reach  25  per  cent. 

[The  Mills  Bill  proposes  a  reduction  of  less  than  7  per  cent.] 

Chester  A.  Arthur's  Letter  of  Acceptance,  1880  :  Such  changes 
hould  be  made  in  the  present  tariff  system  of  taxation  as  shall  relieve 
tvery  burdened  industry,  and  enable  our  artisans  and  manufacturers  ta 
:ompete  successfully  with  those  of  other  lands. 

James  A.  Garfield,  April  i,  1870  :  Duties  should  be  so  high  that 
>ur  manufacturers  can  fairly  compete  with  the  foreign  product,  but  not 
o  high  as  to  enable  them  to  drive  out  the  foreign  article,  enjoy  a  mo- 
lopoly  of  the  trade,  and  regulate  the  prices  as  they  please.  This  is  my 
loctrine  of  protection.  If  Congress  pursues  this  line  of  policy  steadily 
VQ  shall,  year  by  year,  approach  more  nearly  to  the  basis  of  free  trade, 
>ecause  we  shall  be  more  nearly  able  to  compete  with  other  nations  on 
iqual  terms.  I  am  for  a  protection  which  leads  to  ultimate  free  trade. 

President  Arthur,  Annual  Message,  1882  :  A  total  abolition  of 
xcise  taxes  would  almost  inevitably  prove  a  serious,  if  not  an  insurmounta- 
>le  obstacle  to  a  thorough  revision  of  the  tariff  and  to  any  considerable 
eduction  in  import  duties.  The  present  tariff  system  is,  in  many 
espects,  unjust.  It  makes  unequal  distributions,  both  of  its  burdens 
ind  its  benefits.  ...  I  recommend  an  enlargement  of  the  free  list 
10  as  to  include  within  it  the  numerous  articles  which  yield  inconsider- 
ible  revenue,  a  simplification  of  the  complex  and  inconsistent  schedule 
)f  duties  upon  certain  manufactures,  particularly  those  of  cotton,  iron, 
ind  steel,  and  a  substantial  reduction  of  the  duties  upon  those  articles,, 
ind  upon  sugar,  molasses,  silk,  wool,  and  woollen  goods. 


IRIEOEHSTT 

Political  and  Economic  Publications, 


SUMNER  (Prof.  W.  G.).    Lectures  on  the   History  of  Pro- 
tection  in  the  United  States.    Octavo        .  .    So  75 

"There  is  nothing  in  the  literature  of  free  trade  more  forcible  and  effective 
than  this  little  book. "-N.   Y.  Evening  Post. 


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